News that fishing industry lobby group Seafood New Zealand will actively oppose a ground breaking, community-supported plan to ban bottom trawling along the Coromandel Coast shows how out-of-touch it is with public sentiment, says Greenpeace.
In October, the Waikato Regional Council announced it would significantly restrict the areas where bottom trawling is allowed as part of its coastal plan, written after extensive community consultation and a submission that outlined the negative impact of the fishing method from the Environmental Defence Society.
The plan was celebrated by a diverse range of communities from recreational fishers to environmental groups at the time, but upset Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones.
Now Seafood New Zealand have announced they plan to appeal the community’s decision.
“This appeal is a deeply disappointing and cynical attempt by the fishing industry to overrule the wishes of local communities and the considered decision of the Waikato Regional Council who want to protect the ocean,” says Greenpeace Ocean’s Campaigner Juan Parada.
“We know that bottom trawling is highly destructive and by trying to overturn this ban for their own commercial gain, Seafood New Zealand is flying in the face of the clear scientific evidence on the environmental impact of bottom trawling”.
Parada says the council’s plan is an inspiring example of what is possible when local decision-makers step up to protect the environment where central government and industry have allowed destruction.
“The council’s decision is fundamentally about managing activities that damage the seafloor, part of their mandate under the Resource Management Act (RMA) to maintain indigenous biodiversity.
“The commercial fishing industry aren’t the only ones who get a say on what happens out at sea.”
Oceans and Fisheries minister Shane Jones, who boasts about his close ties to the industry, has openly said he wants to limit local government involvement in fisheries management, making them an exclusive matter for central government instead.
“It is ironic that a government minister who became known for campaigning on regional autonomy would push for the centralisation of power to benefit his friends in the commercial fishing industry.
“We encourage the Minister to read the room. Bottom trawling has lost its social licence, and people are increasingly finding ways to resist this destructive practice.
“We desperately need more ocean protection from destructive activities, not less. . The health of the ocean is not a bargaining chip for commercial profit. As demonstrated by the Waikato Regional Council’s coastal plan, collectively we have the power to protect these precious waters for future generations and that win must be defended.”
At home and far out to sea, our oceans are being plundered for profit by the fishing industry through bottom trawling. But what is bottom trawling and why is it so destructive to ocean habitats?
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